The End and The Beginning
The End:
A few days ago I sold my Lancer, and the mountain of parts and accessories collected over three decades' time, to an Australian who flew halfway round the globe to buy it. After a long drive home (heh), he will add it to his collection of much-loved and enthusiastically restored and driven '60-'62 Valiants. The transaction was a bit of an adventure: the car was stored in Northern Michigan, which got wallopped with subfreezing temperatures and 3 feet of snow in a freak multi-day mid-April storm. The buyer lives in a place with year-round Los Angeles-type weather; he had seen a bit of snow once, but had no experience with cold temperatures or large amounts of snow.
That was my last Slant-6 car. I took my driving licence test in it. I taught my father how to change spark plugs on it. I have a lot of fine memories with it, and now it is retiring to someplace warm and sunny where it will live a life of pampered luxury amongst its fellows. For the first time since I began playing with cars as a 14-year-old, I do not own any Chrysler products. With the exception of a 12-year gap between 1978 and 1990, all my life there was always at least one Slant-6 car; now the Slant Six Dan era draws to a close with this, my 6,080th post to FABO. I had a lot of fun, made a lot of friends and a few sworn enemies, learned a whole lot, and hope to have helped out where and when I could. Thanks, all, it's been fun. I'll be around from time to time, mostly in the parts-for-sale section as I gradually finish clearing stuff out. And I will have turn signal switches and decals (and, of course, good upgrades for headlamps and brake/signal lights) for the foreseeable future.
The Beginning:
On that background, it seems appropriate to present this movie about the development of the first Valiant.
The End:
A few days ago I sold my Lancer, and the mountain of parts and accessories collected over three decades' time, to an Australian who flew halfway round the globe to buy it. After a long drive home (heh), he will add it to his collection of much-loved and enthusiastically restored and driven '60-'62 Valiants. The transaction was a bit of an adventure: the car was stored in Northern Michigan, which got wallopped with subfreezing temperatures and 3 feet of snow in a freak multi-day mid-April storm. The buyer lives in a place with year-round Los Angeles-type weather; he had seen a bit of snow once, but had no experience with cold temperatures or large amounts of snow.
That was my last Slant-6 car. I took my driving licence test in it. I taught my father how to change spark plugs on it. I have a lot of fine memories with it, and now it is retiring to someplace warm and sunny where it will live a life of pampered luxury amongst its fellows. For the first time since I began playing with cars as a 14-year-old, I do not own any Chrysler products. With the exception of a 12-year gap between 1978 and 1990, all my life there was always at least one Slant-6 car; now the Slant Six Dan era draws to a close with this, my 6,080th post to FABO. I had a lot of fun, made a lot of friends and a few sworn enemies, learned a whole lot, and hope to have helped out where and when I could. Thanks, all, it's been fun. I'll be around from time to time, mostly in the parts-for-sale section as I gradually finish clearing stuff out. And I will have turn signal switches and decals (and, of course, good upgrades for headlamps and brake/signal lights) for the foreseeable future.
The Beginning:
On that background, it seems appropriate to present this movie about the development of the first Valiant.
